If you value longer battery life and a more lightweight device, the Apple MacBook Air is an excellent choice. Its portability is enhanced by its fanless design, translating to silent operation. Alternatively, the Acer Swift X delivers stronger performance suitable for intensive engineering tasks, gaming, and 3D or machine learning work, thanks to its dedicated Nvidia graphics card, but it is heavier and has a shorter battery life. If budget is a main concern, the MacBook Air tends to be less expensive, while the Swift X is priced higher, potentially offering more storage and memory. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Acer Swift X (2022)
The Acer Swift X (2022) has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Air (2020).
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Air (2020)
Best in class overall build quality
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Key differences
Screen Quality
7.0/10
7.5/10
14.0in
SIZE
13.3in
2240 x 1400
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
330.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
395.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Air has a better screen than the Acer Swift X for general use, AI, and engineering and design.
For general use, both the Acer Swift X and the MacBook Air offer displays with sharp resolution and ample brightness, making them pleasant for everyday tasks like browsing and video streaming. In engineering and design, they both cover a wide range of colors, essential for accuracy in visual projects, but for high-octane 3D applications and gaming, their screens fall short due to lower refresh rates which can result in less fluid motion and responsiveness.
Battery
10.0 Hours
15.0 Hours
The Acer Swift X has 10 hours of battery life. The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Build Quality
7.6/10
10.0/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has best in class build quality, while the Acer Swift X (2022) has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,313
$850
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Acer Swift X (2022) has a price of $1,313 and the Apple MacBook Air (2020) costs $850.
The Acer Swift X (2022) and Apple MacBook Air (2020) are both good for general use.
The Acer Swift X (2022) is touted for general use due to its powerful Intel i7 processor and 16GB of RAM, along with a high-quality IPS screen, which supports a balance of performance and screen quality, but with modest battery life. On the other hand, the Apple MacBook Air (2020)'s strengths for general use lie in its Apple M1 chip and optimized macOS, which together with an excellent screen and 8GB of RAM ensure smooth operation with a longer battery life and fanless silent operation, making it highly portable and comfortable for everyday tasks.
Gaming and AI
6.6/10
6.2/10
4.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.9/10
2240 x 1400
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
10.0/10
The Acer Swift X (2022) and Apple MacBook Air (2020) are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The Acer Swift X (2022) offers fair gaming and 3D performance primarily because it comes equipped with a dedicated Nvidia RTX 3050 graphics unit, which is more potent than typical integrated graphics but still limited by its standard screen refresh rate of 60Hz.
Engineering and Design
7.5/10
7.3/10
7.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.0/10
4.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Acer Swift X (2022) and Apple MacBook Air (2020) are both good for engineering and design.
The Acer Swift X (2022) suits engineering and design with its powerful Intel i7 processor and Nvidia RTX 3050 GPU which excel in compute-intensive applications and offer ample RAM for multitasking, yet it's slightly less portable and noisier under load compared to the MacBook Air.
Content Creation
7.8/10
7.8/10
7.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.0/10
2240 x 1400
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Swift X (2022) and Apple MacBook Air (2020) are both good for content creation.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.7/10
7.7/10
7.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.0/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
2240 x 1400
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Acer Swift X (2022) are both good for software development.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Portability
Very Good
Very Good
14.0in
SIZE
13.3in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
2.8 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Acer Swift X (2022) both have very good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
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We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Acer Swift X (2022) and the Apple MacBook Air (2020) compare to other laptops
"The Swift X is an Acer for entry-level gaming. With the entry-level graphics chip, our Acer not only beats every single current AMD and Intel iGPU, but also Intel's dGPU Iris Xe Max. However, despite being a GDDR6 version, the GTX does not match the expectations set by its own counterparts from our database. This may be a result of the single fan, which only produces moderate noise levels under load. The performance level of the thin and light 1.4 kg (~3.09 lbs) 14-inch laptop is impressive nonetheless."
"The Apple MacBook Air M2 Entry is a very good, but too expensive daily MacBook. The new MacBook Air M2 is undoubtedly once again a very good mobile companion, but we are still a little bit disappointed on a very high level, which is definitely connected with the increased price point. The new chassis is extremely slim and the front edge is no problem during typing, but the bezels are pretty wide for a modern device and in addition with the vertical space required for the notch, the new Air has larger footprint than some Windows rivals."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift X (2022) or the Apple MacBook Air (2020)
About Acer
Acer is a prominent Taiwanese electronics brand which makes a wide range of laptops, with multiple product lines catering to personal use, gaming, and business use. They are renowned for having exceptional value for money, as they frequently offer good specifications at a lower price than other manufacturers.
About Apple
Apple, an American technology company, is one of the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization. Their MacBook laptops feature a slim, minimalistic design, class-leading battery life, and premium display and speaker quality. In 2020 Apple switched from using Intel processors to their own silicon chips which have excellent performance and efficiency. The macOS operating system is the second most widely used OS, after Windows.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
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Laptops Expert
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